Simon Whetham

Originally meant as a one-off festival performance, Quiet Please contains a single 28-minute composition. Created strictly from manipulated field recordings originating from daily life in London's Peckham Library, Whetham's ode to the unique six-story structure is, at times, engaging and at others, alienating. As the piece begins, the mechanical sounds of what must be the boiler room chug along repetitively until they abruptly disappear. Further along, the disembodied voices of library patrons float ominously as papers are ruffled and pages are turned. The quiet/loud dynamic of this recording is such that, on occasion, it appears that sound is completely absent. Coupled with abrupt sonic splashes, these lengthy passages of quietude articulate Whetham's understanding of the sonic character of the building. In hands less reverent, the entire concept may have been lost to pretension.